County of Grande Prairie issues evacuation orders due to wildfire
2nd consecutive day that wildfire in county forced people from their homes
A wildfire in the County of Grande Prairie has triggered an evacuation, forcing some residents to leave their homes.
RCMP issued a news release shortly before 4:30 p.m. MT Sunday, stating they were evacuating people living just southwest of the City of Grande Prairie, roughly 390 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
About an hour later, the county issued evacuation orders. Residents living south of Township Road 710 to 27th Avenue and East of Range Road 64 to Highway 40 were told to leave their homes.
Impacted residents were told to gather important documents, medication and medical devices, and go to the Pomeroy Hotel in the City of Grande Prairie, the alert says.
Everyone in the area, not under evacuation order, must be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. Those under evacuation alert are advised to stay up to date on the latest instructions from local emergency officials.
Alberta Wildfire estimated the out-of-control fire to span two hectares around 4:30 p.m. But about an hour later, it had grown to 35 hectares, according to the agency's wildfire dashboard.
The fire is burning between Township Road 710 and Highway 40, RCMP said. An alert from the County of Grande Prairie said the flames are past the lake north of Deer Ridge Estates.
Police did not specify how many people were evacuated.
The county and city fire departments responded to the scene, with Alberta Wildfire also assisting, the county's alert said.
This marks two consecutive days where county residents were forced from their homes due to a wildfire.
On Saturday, a fire in the Morgan's Mountain area forced three homes to evacuate.
That fire was deemed under control as of 10 a.m. Sunday, according to an update from the county.
With files from Nicholas Frew